Locals hit out at ‘banshee-like screaming sound’ coming from new luxury flats
Residents living near a new block of luxury flats claim they are being kept awake at night by a ‘tinnitus-inducing banshee-like screaming sound’.
The Shoreline Crescent Development in Folkestone, Kent, which contains 84 new homes was completed this year by the shoreline.
Video footage shows a whirring noise coming from the block which appears to be caused by the building’s balconies reverberating in the wind.
The project is in the final stages of construction, with people expected to move in within the coming months.
Commenting on Facebook under a clip of the noise, Angela Davis said: ‘Oh my God, I wouldn’t want to live in one or anywhere near them. That high-pitched whistle would definitely send me over the edge.’
Judi Varona told KentOnline: ‘I am concerned about the noise.
‘Yesterday the wind was horrendous. It’s just so annoying!
‘My first thought is that the new buildings are making some kind of wind tunnel. I had not heard this noise before.
‘I am right on the end near the shoreline flats. I hope these are just teething troubles; I am trying to stay positive.’
Locals complained to the The Guardian earlier this year that the new blocks are ‘out of scale and character’ with the rest of the town, and it looked like something from The Flintstones.
They slammed the building’s ‘fancy architecture’ following claims the ‘high pitched hum’ emanating from the block is keeping them awake when it’s windy.
Locals said the ‘loud’ noise, appears to be being caused by wind blowing through the building’s balcony railings and sounds like a ‘harp crossed with a xylophone’.
They suggested the building’s developer will be forced to fix the issue, as one local said the high-pitched noise would drive them ‘insane’.
The luxury flats have been built by former Saga chief Sir Roger De Haan and apartments range from £430,000, with penthouses in the block costing up to £1.8million each.
While he said his plan is not the ‘gentrify’ Folkestone, he did admit wealthy Londoners were likely to buy the flats.
It is part of a development project that will see 1,000 new properties built on Folkestone’s seafront, after Mr De Haan bought the seaside town’s harbour for £11million in 2004.
£3million has been set aside by the businessman to build more schools and an additional £1.2million for a new local GP surgery.
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